Sherlock @ Comic-Con: Will Season 3 End With Another Brutal Cliffhanger?

Sherlock producers Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Sue Vertue hit Comic-Con on Thursday to dish their titular character’s great (literal) fall at the end of Season 2, dissect the bromance between Sherlock and John and drop clues about what’s coming in Season 3. Read on to find out what they had to say:

RESURRECTION ROAD | The producers knew the Season 2 finale was going to rile up fans when they created it, thinking, “This is going to be ridiculous,” shared Moffat. “People are going to be so cross. That’s when it got really fun.” Added Gatiss, describing a live screening party: “Actually, approaching the last 20 minutes, it was incredible. As soon as it finished, everyone’s phones went crazy.” So how will the writers resolve Sherlock’s shocking plummet from the rooftop? “There really are only a few ways you can fall off a roof and survive,” replied Gatiss, while Moffat added that the “showstopper” of the Season 3 premiere is actually when John and Sherlock meet again. “That moment is electrifying,” he said. “And it goes on and on. That lengthy sequence is my favorite moment of Sherlock that we’ve made.”

HOBBIT BREAK | While stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman weren’t at the panel, they did send along a video message. The latter actor greeted fans in full Hobbit gear as he shoots The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, while Cumberbatch revealed that the stars will get back to work on Episode 3 of Season 3 this month — after “Martin puts his sweaty prosthetic feet back on.”

RIP MORIARTY | Sorry, the bad guy is definitely dead, confirmed Vertue, although his portrayer Andrew Scott will return since it’s “cheaper to get him back than to get a mannequin,” said Moffat.

WEDDING BELLS | Episode 2 of the new season will feature the wedding of John to Mary, but the most touching moment during a special sneak peek belonged to John and Sherlock — as the former broaches the subject of a best man for the big day. Sherlock offers up several suggestions, until Watson snaps back, “But he’s not my best friend.” As the realization finally hits Sherlock, he goes absolutely still. “I’m…your…best friend,” he lets out slowly, to which John responds, “Of course you are.”

BROTHERLY BONDS | Gatiss couldn’t reveal how much his Mycroft will be around without spilling too much. He did, however, hint that unlike in the original stories, everything will not just be forgiven and that the producers “wanted to explore how [the disappearance] affected all of his friends and family.”

PREMIERE HOMAGE | The Season 3 premiere, titled “The Empty Hearse,” is “based on The Empty House, but only a little,” said Gatiss. It’s got a different plot. The enormously important thing is the impact Sherlock’s return has on John Watson.”

EVEN MORE SHERLOCK? | Talking about the stars’ Tweets that Season 4 is on the way, Moffat joked, “If [Cumberbatch] has commissioned another series, well done. He didn’t know he had comissioning power.” But in all seriousness, Vertue confirmed that the cast is “optioned for the fourth series. We just haven’t figured out when we can do it.”

HANG ON TIGHT | Prepare yourself for another nailbiting ender. The upcoming Season 3 finale will have a cliffhanger, too. “You’ll be watching the end of the last episode thinking, ‘They wouldn’t stop it there?!'” teased Moffat. “‘They wouldn’t stop it there?! Oh my God, they wouldn’t stop it there?!'”

BIG SCREEN ADVENTURE | Asked if they’d ever do a Sherlock movie, Moffat replied, “It’s an interesting thought. They take ages to set up because are really slow compared to television. And we’d never want to do anything to reduce the quantity [of episodes] that we’re doing even further.”

I cannot begin to describe my excitement for this! Nearly 2 years of waiting, but I’m sure Series 3 will live up to the high standards of the first two. Glad to see the focus remains the brother-tight bond between Sherlock and John- that’s the true heart of the show.

Cannot WAIT for the return of the most ultimate, bestest bromance in the history of platonic but devoted man love! 3 episodes every 1.5-2 years…nobody does nerd torture like the British! Between this and Doctor Who mysteries every season, I am going out of my geek lovin’ mind.

And don’t get me started on the mystery of How. He. Survived! I am glad Sherlock’s people aren’t going to chuckle and say “That Sherlock.” when he comes back into their lives. That’s the way it goes down in all the other incarnations of the Great Detetective and I think it discredits the realism of Sherlock’s relationships and the story itself. You make me loved ones think you are dead…there is going to be issues to work out!

Can’t wait for Mrs. Hudson’s reaction. LOL.

Also, as a buyer of mannequins for a retails store, I can tell you that Moffat was perfectly serious about live actors being cheaper.

Thank you to the Sherlock Team for keeping the heart of what makes Sherlock so good alive!! I’m a huge fan of the original stories and have never been able to watch the TV shows and movies people made about it for everything they got wrong. But not Gatiss, Moffat, Vertue, Cumberbatch, and Freeman! They have finally gotten it right!

Okay, so basically, another cliff-hanger? Benedict already done it on Cabin Pressure 4th season. Now, end of Sherlock season 3 will be just another cliff-hanger? Why do you guys love to do things like this to us.. D: Why, sir, why? D:

A movie? “They take ages to set up because are really slow compared to television.” If giving us new TV episodes takes almost 2 years between seasons, then I don’t even want to think about how long it would take for them to give us a movie. And anyways, the episodes are like mini-movies themselves, right? At an hour and a half or so they do the trick for me.

Love Sherlock and can’t wait!!
I think his survival has something to do with the female lab tech. If you recall, before he went to his ‘demise’, he asked her to do him a favor, but we never learned what it was. Maybe she gave him some drug to slow his heart or something?

Anyway, I love the bromance and look forward to Gatiss’ favorite scene when they come face-to-face!

I don’t buy that; I’ve got pics, gifs, and video of Andrew Scott reprising Moriarty on the Sherlock set. He meets with Mycroft; they’re in on something- them go their separate ways. So he’s definitely back for more than just ~playing dead.

I’m just waiting to see how hard John is going to punch Sherlock when he sees him. I’m sure because when I was younger, I had a best friend who was closer than a sister to me, the only friend I had in the world at the time, and she died in a car accident. When I saw the trailer, I thought about what I would do and what I would think if my best friend suddenly appeared a year later telling me that she’d faked her death. As ecstatic as I can see myself being to have my best friend back, I can also see myself being equally as furious with her for putting me through losing and mourning my best friend in the world, and also for not trusting me to tell me that she wasn’t dead, no matter what the reason… so for that, I can very easily see my reaction being, after the initial heart attack wore off, to punch her squarely in the face before ever getting myself to the point of being able to admit my joy and relief to have her back. So I’m pretty much positive John is gonna give Sherlock a bloody nose and express a lot of anger and hurt before he ever admits he’s happy to have Sherlock back.